Monday, October 5, 2009

California: America's 1st Failed State?

As I had my cup o'coffee and did the internet senseless job hunting thing this morning, I came across an article from The Guardian. A very interesting read regarding our state's woes. There is some optimism towards the end of the story, but this little excerpt starts it off:

...the state that was once held up as the epitome of the boundless opportunities of America has collapsed. From its politics to its economy to its environment and way of life, California is like a patient on life support. At the start of summer the state government was so deeply in debt that it began to issue IOUs instead of wages. Its unemployment rate has soared to more than 12%, the highest figure in 70 years. Desperate to pay off a crippling budget deficit, California is slashing spending in education and healthcare, laying off vast numbers of workers and forcing others to take unpaid leave. In a state made up of sprawling suburbs the collapse of the housing bubble has impoverished millions and kicked tens of thousands of families out of their homes. Its political system is locked in paralysis and the two-term rule of former movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen as a disaster – his approval ratings having sunk to levels that would make George W Bush blush. The crisis is so deep that Professor Kevin Starr, who has written an acclaimed history of the state, recently declared: "California is on the verge of becoming the first failed state in America."

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Los Angeles native living in the ignored northeastern edge of Pomona for the past 10+ years. What brought me here? Cheap Housing. I still live in what I had originally bought as an 'investment' property... and love it!